(a) Visit—General.

(1) For RHCs, a visit is either of the following:

(i) Face-to-face encounter between a RHC patient and one of the following:

(A) Physician.

(B) Physician assistant.

(C) Nurse practitioner.

(D) Certified nurse midwife.

(E) Visiting registered professional or licensed practical nurse.

(G) Clinical psychologist.

(H) Clinical social worker.

(ii) Qualified transitional care management service.

(2) For FQHCs, a visit is either of the following:

(i) A visit as described in paragraph (a)(1)(i) or (ii) of this section.

(ii) A face-to-face encounter between a patient and either of the following:

(A) A qualified provider of medical nutrition therapy services as defined in part 410, subpart G, of this chapter.

(B) A qualified provider of outpatient diabetes self-management training services as defined in part 410, subpart H, of this chapter.

(b) Visit—Medical.

(1) A medical visit is a face-to-face encounter between a RHC or FQHC patient and one of the following:

(i) Physician.

(ii) Physician assistant.

(iii) Nurse practitioner.

(iv) Certified nurse midwife.

(v) Visiting registered professional or licensed practical nurse.

(2) A medical visit for a FQHC patient may be either of the following:

(i) Medical nutrition therapy visit.

(ii) Diabetes outpatient self-management training visit.

(3) Visit—Mental health. A mental health visit is a face-to-face encounter between a RHC or FQHC patient and one of the following:

(i) Clinical psychologist.

(ii) Clinical social worker.

(iii) Other RHC or FQHC practitioner, in accordance with paragraph (b)(1) of this section, for mental health services.

(c) Visit—Multiple.

(1) For RHCs and FQHCs that are authorized to bill under the reasonable cost system, encounters with more than one health professional and multiple encounters with the same health professional that take place on the same day and at a single location constitute a single visit, except when the patient—

(i) Suffers an illness or injury subsequent to the first visit that requires additional diagnosis or treatment on the same day;

(ii) Has a medical visit and a mental health visit on the same day; or

(iii) Has an initial preventive physical exam visit and a separate medical or mental health visit on the same day.

(2) For RHCs and FQHCs that are authorized to bill under the reasonable cost system, Medicare pays RHCs and FQHCs for more than 1 visit per day when the conditions in paragraph (c)(1) of this section are met.

(3) For FQHCs that are authorized to bill under the reasonable cost system, Medicare pays for more than 1 visit per day when a DSMT or MNT visit is furnished on the same day as a visit described in paragraph (c)(1) of this section are met.

(4) For FQHCs billing under the PPS, and grandfathered tribal FQHCs that are authorized to bill as a FQHC at the outpatient per visit rate for Medicare as set annually by the Indian Health Service—

(i) Suffers an illness or injury subsequent to the first visit that requires additional diagnosis or treatment on the same day; or

(ii) Has a medical visit and a mental health visit on the same day.

[79 FR 68001, Nov. 13, 2014, as amended at 80 FR 71372, Nov. 16, 2015]